Jacks and other lifting type devices are commonly used to facilitate access to the underside of vehicles or such objects for repairs, maintenance, and emergencies. When an automobile, truck or other motor vehicle is involved in an accident, there are occasions when the vehicle comes to rest on its side or its roof, for example, on a person, or against an object, such as a tree, utility pole or another vehicle. Emergency responders, including firefighters and first responders, understand the plethora of difficulties involved in rescuing individuals trapped under vehicles and other heavy objects, such as fallen trees, walls, and poles. In such situations, the vehicles or other heavy object must be stabilized and lifted to allow rescue personnel to remove the driver and passengers, and any victim trapped beneath the vehicle. Moreover, in order to prevent further injury to the occupants of the vehicle or rescue personnel, or further damage to the vehicle itself, the vehicle usually must be stabilized and lifted in the position at which it has come to rest.
Jacks and other such lifting devices, while simple, inexpensive, and relatively portable, place the emergency rescuer, firefighter, police and law enforcement personnel, or any other type of individual in a crowded, inconvenient, and frequently dangerous position. Existing jacks and other such lifting devices, have a variety of downfalls. For example, many jacks only have a single contact and load point structure. Depending on a variety of factors, the single contact point structure and the single load point structure may put the vehicle in an unstable and unsafe position when lifted. There may be inadvertent slippage of the vehicle or the jack. Further, the undercarriage of many vehicles is close to the ground, and consequently, even with crawlers, jacks, and ramps, access is inconvenient and somewhat difficult, forcing one to creep beneath the car in a supine position or to aid someone with injuries. Another problem includes the inconvenience of needing to install or attach lifting devices.
The airbag method is an alternative to using the existing car jacks and lifts. The airbag method is often used by the rescue community when lifting a vehicle that has come to rest on top of a pedestrian, vehicle passenger, or bicycle rider. The airbag method involves a number of steps that require multiple people and pieces of equipment that must be prepared beneath a vehicle or other object before the air bags are able to effectively raise the vehicle or other object high enough off of the ground to allow clearance to rescue any individuals trapped beneath the vehicle or other object. The air bag lift method requires using multiple specialty air bags, whereby a first air bag is inflated individually with air and then another airbag may be placed over the first and inflated.
A disadvantage of the air bag method is that multiple components and time is needed for implementation. For example, it is estimated that the airbag method requires three highly trained firefighters and first responders at least three to five rescue man minutes (which translates to nine to fourteen minutes for an ordinary, untrained individual) for transporting of equipment, setup, and connections of the many components. This may then translate to ten to twelve rescuer minutes for an emergency responder to successfully assist and extract a trapped individual. In an emergency rescue operation, time is of the essence and anything that may be done to increase the speed as well as maintain the safety of those involved in an emergency rescue is needed. A further disadvantage of the airbag methods is that two (2) airbags are the limit unless an additional lifting platform and support scribbing are utilized. Further, multiple man minutes are needed to lift an object over 12 inches using the airbags.
Various attempts have been made to provide alternatives to existing methods and techniques of lifting vehicles or other heavy objects. Previously filed patents exist that describe such methods and techniques for lifting vehicles or other heavy objects, however, they do not provide an adequate solution for a quick and convenient response when a vehicle or other object must be lifted as quickly as possible, such as during emergency rescue operations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,048 describes a method of lifting a vehicle that uses two J-shaped members that are tied together and used to flip rotate a car through more than 90 degrees. However, it is noted that the J-Shaped members described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,048 are large and bulky and must be attached to front and rear wheels. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,048 teaches that the vehicle must first be jacked-up using a body jack. U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,048 is primarily used for maintenance of a vehicle to allow access to both an underside and a top of a vehicle and would not be useful or realistic if used during emergency rescue operations where timely and easy techniques must be used to access an individual in distress beneath a vehicle or other heavy object.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,894 describes using a manually operated, wheeled hydraulic lift that is coupled to a beam at one end by a chain. Centered on the beam is a raised assembly that makes contact with a vehicle during lifting, when the manually operated hydraulic lift is activated. U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,894 fails to describe however a mechanism for lifting a vehicle that would be readily available for rescue operations that require quick lifts and portable components that could be easily transported on a fire truck or other vehicle.
Despite the various designs and types of jacks, lifts, or supports that are presently available, there still exist numerous drawbacks and problems that have not been addressed by the presently available options. Therefore, a portable and universal safety lever adapter device would be very useful to a wide spectrum of users, primarily anyone that aids those in emergency situations in various locations.
Following an accident, a vehicle may come to rest on its side, its roof, or against another object such as a tree. It may become necessary to not only stabilize the vehicle in its resting position to prevent further damage to the occupants in the vehicle or to the vehicle itself but also to create a work area that is safe for First Responders operating inside or around the vehicle or object while providing emergency rescue or providing support in an emergency setting. In the past it was easier to stabilize vehicles because the vehicles' surfaces were mostly flat and made of steel, only requiring a few wedges to stabilize the vehicle. Newer vehicles however have more rounded bodies and are made of thin layers of steel or have plastic panels, which can cause the vehicle to act unpredictably when the vehicle rolls over or is knocked off its wheels.
With instability in newer cars it becomes necessary to provide a stabilization system that is adjustable to accommodate for various positions, heights, angles and types of cars. It is also important for First Responders to utilize a Bi-pod rescue strut system that is portable so that it may be transported easily to any emergency scene and occupy less space while being transported in their vehicle. This would give First Responders ample space for other tools important to an emergency setting. The Bi-pod rescue strut system should also have multiple configurations and applications so that multiple tools are not needed, further maximizing space for the First Responder's vehicle. Having multiple applications also leads to decreasing the need for extensive training to learn how to operate multiple devices. The Bi-pod rescue strut system should also be able to be quickly assembled because any extra time used in constructing a stabilization system could be used to help the victims. Currently most popular methods of stabilizing a vehicle are to use wooden beams and rescue struts.
First Responders use wooden beams such as four by four beams where the First Responders wedge the wooden beams between the ground or other stable surface and a part of the vehicle that needs to be supported. This method can prove quite burdensome because the wooden beams usually are discarded after one use, thus requiring a new set of beams. The wooden beams also cannot be dissembled or collapsed, decreasing the portability aspect of the system. The wooden beams also occupy an excessive amount of space in a First Responder's vehicle, taking up space for other important tools that are crucial to an emergency setting.
Struts are also typically used by First Responders. Struts are columns that are tipped over with their top surface anchored against the vehicle. A strap or other device connected to the strut is used to pull the base of the strut towards the car, helping to apply a uniform force to the vehicle in a vertical and horizontal direction. Struts may also function as tripods for confined space applications whereby a tripod head receives the top surfaces of three struts and is then used over a confined space hole. A winch connected to the tripod is then used to raise or lower a person or equipment.
Some problems commonly found in struts such as these are that the systems are heavy, expensive, cumbersome and difficult to transport as well as to initially erect. Also a single strut provides only one column or support leg to support the vehicle, extending from the base of the strut to the upper extension tube member. The narrower the base sitting on the ground the easier it is to tip the strut over. Further it is harder for struts to be used as an anchorage connector for confined space and rescue applications in a tripod configuration due to obstructions or minimal space on either of the confined space entry point.